VP Sara Duterte composite image from PNA and Inquirer photos
MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Sara Duterte’s decision to miss President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) came after she designated herself as the “designated survivor.”
Following Duterte’s trip to Germany early on July 24 (Wednesday), netizens went on social media to comment, with many criticizing the trip as insensitive because it coincided with massive flooding in Metro Manila brought on by Super Typhoon Carina, enhancing the southwest monsoon.
Some netizens connected Sara’s trip with her designated survivor pronouncement.
One netizen, who shared an article published by INQUIRER.net titled “‘Designated survivor’: Understanding protocol alien to PH,” sarcastically wrote online:
“Kaya pala bumiyahe sa Germany, self appointed designated survivor. […]” (So that’s why [the vice president] traveled to Germany, a self-appointed designated survivor.), the netizen wrote.
READ MORE: ‘Designated survivor’: Understanding protocol alien to PH
Another netizen commented: “What is the debate all about? E[h] talaga namang s[i]ya ang “designated survivor” in case something happens to the President. […]”
But does Duterte’s self-appointment as the designated survivor have anything to do with her decision to fly out of the country just as millions of Filipinos were grappling with up to two-story flooding?
When does the ‘designated survivor’ role end?
Historically, in the United States, the term designated survivor refers to a high-ranking official in the presidential line of succession who is kept at a secure, undisclosed location during significant events.
In some instances, officials who are not in the line of succession are named as designated survivor.
This precaution ensures continuity of government, allowing the designated survivor to assume the presidency if a catastrophic incident incapacitates the President, Vice President, and other top officials.
The exact duration of the designated survivor role is not explicitly defined, but according to accounts from previously designated survivors in the US government, the role typically lasts for the duration of the event from which they are absent.
Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, who was flown to New York City in 1997 after being chosen as the designated survivor during President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address, recalled that his role, though brief, carried significant responsibilities.
According to a report published by the HISTORY Channel, Glickman watched the State of the Union broadcast from his daughter’s apartment, accompanied by Secret Service agents and a military officer with the “Football” — a 45-pound briefcase containing top-secret nuclear launch codes.
After Clinton’s speech, he was informed by the security detail that “the mission is terminated” and was offered a flight back to Washington, D.C., which he declined. Instead, he took his daughter out for Japanese food, reflecting on the irony of having served as a critical backup to the President just hours earlier.
In a separate article by NBC News, Glickman recalled that while the role had its perks, those were shortlived.
“Only three hours before, I was potentially the most powerful person in the world,” Glickman told NBC News.
“Three hours later, I couldn’t even get a cab,” he added.
No such role in PH
While the designated survivor protocol has been a long-standing practice in the US, there is no such thing in the Philippines.
“I think she is just joking … because we do not have such thing as a designated survivor,” said House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco, referring to Sara’s pronouncement.
“In the US, there is. You have seen the series on US TV—they have a designated survivor —a Cabinet official, a Cabinet secretary will not be attending the Sona, and the person is secluded,” Velasco said.
“And then whatever happens to the president and the immediate successors—because in the US Sona, like us, the vice president is there who’s the head of the Senate, and then the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the speaker of the House, so the immediate successors are all attending the [Sona] that is why they have the so-called designated survivor,” he added.
GRAPHICS by Ed Lustan / INQUIRER.net
Although the Philippine government does not adhere to a designated survivor protocol, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution clearly outlines the line of succession in the event of the sitting president dying or becoming permanently incapacitated.
Section 7 states that the Vice President will succeed the President if “at the beginning of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died or shall have become permanently disabled.” The Vice President will also be President to serve the unexpired term of the President “in case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation.”
READ: VP Duterte as ‘designated survivor’? No such thing in PH – House SecGen
Bills on designated successor have been filed in Congress, but these have not been enacted. Among these was a bill filed by former Senator Panfilo Lacson in 2019, authorizing the President to name a designated survivor.
READ: Lacson pushes for passage of bill naming President’s ‘designated survivor’
‘On a personal trip’
A statement released by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Thursday, July 25 —a day after Duterte’s departure was reported—clarified that she is “on a personal trip with her family overseas.”
Respect her privacy, the statement added.
The OVP said the trip was allowed by a travel authority from the Office of the President issued last July 9.
READ: VP Duterte’s trip to Germany ‘received necessary approvals’ – OVP
The statement did not mention where she and her family were traveling, although it was already reported that they took a flight bound for Dubai, from where they would take a connecting flight to Munich, Germany.
‘Unfortunate’ timing
“The timing of the trip coinciding with Typhoon Carina is unfortunate,” the OVP said, adding that even in her absence, the Disaster Operations Center of the OVP “is always ready to assist families affected by calamities.”
READ: OVP: Timing of Sara’s trip ‘unfortunate’
The Metro Manila Council (MMC) on Wednesday declared a state of calamity in the National Capital Region (NCR) following the widespread flooding due to heavy rains induced by Typhoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) and the enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat.
READ: Carina floods leave PH capital in state of calamity
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday reported that at least 21 people from Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon died. Some reports placed the casualty figure at 14.
READ: 21 dead after Typhoon Carina pounds PH – PNP